Forgotten Past, Magical Future
by Taroh
Summary: It has been a year since all the mages have returned to Winding Circle. Briar runs into his best friend from when he was a thief. Her street name is Dagger and it turns out the shes a water mage. But she is in trouble and needs help. PLEASE READ
1. Default Chapter

Title: Forgotten Past, Magical Future  
  
He was standing over someone in a large marble room in the dead of night. That person was a girl but he could not see her face because her long dark brown hair was in the way. She was died, and had a blood dripping on a floor from the wound that way made by a knife that was jabbed through her. The same knife that he was holding in his hand. He knew that he was the one that had killed her and he was smiling. Lightning flashed as he looked outside and saw a full moon.  
Briar Moss woke up from his bed in a sweat. 'Another nightmare' he thought. It had been that same dream that had been haunting him for the past month. It was a recurring dream that he could not understand. 'Who is that girl, why does it feel like I know her, why did I kill her, and why was I happy about it?' he always wondered.  
He started to get up when he heard the familiar sound of the Hub bell. It had been a year since he returned to Winding Circle in Emelan from his journey to the city of Chammur. Daja and Tris had returned too. Sandry and Lark had been happy to have everyone back again and even though Rosethorn would not admit it she was happy about it too. They were all glad to be together again and it seemed that each of them had taught a student mage while they were away. But out of all of there students, Evvy is the only one at Winding Circle.  
Briar got up and dressed when he herd Rosethorn yelling. He went out to the garden in the back and when he stepped outside he saw one of Evvy's cats run inside, frantic. Rosethorn ran up to him and said "Have you seen Evvy?"  
"No" Briar replied "Knowing her she probably isn't up yet"  
"Well go wake her" Rosethorn said before walking away "And tell her to keep her cats out of my garden! If her cats have to chew on plants, send them over to Crane's greenhouse."  
Briar had to laugh. Whenever anything bothered Rosethorn she mad sure that it bothered Crane too. Rosethorn hated cats but she did care about Evvy so she allowed them in the house. When Evvy had lived in Chammur the only company or friends that she had were her cats until she met Briar and Rosethorn. So when they left to go back to Winding Circle Rosethorn allowed Evvy to bring them along.  
Just then Lark and Niko can outside. "What is she yelling about now?" Niko asked"  
"One of Evvy's cats was eating some of her plants so she was trying to get it to leave" Briar replied  
"I see" Then Lark turned to Rosethorn "Rosy hurry up and finish. Tris and Sandry have everything ready for breakfast"  
"I'll be there when I can" Rosethorn yelled back "And tell Tris not to burn the toast like she did last time."  
"Same old Rosethorn" Said Niko "Always with an attitude" 


	2. the past dragged up

Chapter 2  
  
Everyone had finished breakfast and now Niko had left because he had to take care of something for Moonstream. Rosethorn had returned to the garden and Lark had left to give lessons to Comas her new student who also had magic in weaving. The rest of the mages were left to finish the chores around Discipline.  
All of them were finished except Evvy who was still dusting the shelves. Sandry was sitting at the table writing to Pasco, a dancing mage that she had discovered and befriended a year ago. Tris was sitting on the couch reading one of her many books and Daja was just sitting at the table trying to finish a book on metals that Frostpine had given her.  
Briar walked in and Evvy asked "When im done with all these chores are we going to have a meditation lesson here?"  
"Actually were not going to have a lesson today because we have to go into Summersea and help with the Winding Circle booth in the market with Rosethorn and Lark."  
"Great, I want to go back to see if that jeweler in town has anymore of those precious stones" Evvy smiled happily  
Briar sat down on the couch next to Tris and Tris closed her book. She looked down at the dagger that Briar always kept in the side of his boot. It had a nice design on it but what she didn't understand was that it had the letter D engraved in it. She didn't understand it because she knew that Briar had the dagger since he was a thief and his street name had been Roach.  
"Briar can ask you something?" Said Tris  
"Sure what is it?"  
"Well, it's about that dagger that you always carry"  
Briar pulled the dagger from his boot and held it up. "What about it?"  
"It's just that I've always wondered why it has a D on it. I mean you've had that dagger since before you came here, and your street name was Roach, so why would you have a dagger with a D on it?" Tris asked  
"I've always wondered that too" said Evvy  
Sandry and Daja looked up as well  
"Well its kinda a long story, but I guess I can just tell you that it's not my dagger" Briar said. All the girls could tell by Briars face that it wasn't really something that he wanted to talk about.  
"If it's too personal, then you don't have to say" said Sandry  
"No, its ok." replied Briar "It was my best friends. When I was about 6 in the gang the thief lord had already took a liking towards me and I was on my way to being one of the best thieves in the gang. But it never happened"  
"What happened?" asked Daja  
"I met Dagger" said Briar "I was in the market one day and saw a girl about my age she was being chased by one of the merchants for stealing an apple. She looked like she needed help so I cut her off and took her to one of our hiding places. I could tell that she didn't belong to any gang and she told me she was alone so I befriended her. But when I asked her about her family she said that she didn't know where they were or who they were. She just woke up one day near a river and couldn't remember anything about her past."  
"So she had amnesia" Said Tris  
"Yeh" Briar said "I started to teach her how to be a good thief and while that was happening we started to become really good friends. She wasn't like the other people in my gang who, she really tried to get to know me and didn't judge me. But the trouble started when I tried to get her to join the thieflords gang. He wouldn't let her join and mad up some stupid excuse. But in the end even though the thieflord didn't like it I kept hanging with Dagger.  
"So what happened?" asked Evvy  
"The trial, when Niko saved me from being sentenced to the docks" said Briar "When all of us got caught it was only Dagger's second time in jail so she got sent free. When Niko saved me from my sentence I had to go with him to Winding Circle."  
"That must have been hard" said Sandry "Leaving your best friend behind. Did you at least get to say goodbye?"  
"Yeh, that's the whole thing with this dagger" Said Briar "I say her again the morning before I left. I didn't want to leave her there by herself but she said that she would be fine now that the thief lord was behind bars for good. We both promised that we would see each other again, and that's the whole meaning with this dagger. We both stole identical daggers from this merchant the had come into town a bout two months before. He specialized in making things with initials on them. So we stole the matching dagger but hers had a D on it and mine had an R on it. The morning before I left we switched daggers, and promised that when we met again we would switch the daggers back."  
"I get it now" said Tris "So the daggers kinda represent your friendship"  
"That's really sweet the you did that, so you'll always be best friends" Said Sandry.  
That's when Sandry noticed that Briar who had come in to the house looking happy now look sad.  
"You really miss her dont you." said Sandry  
"Yeh, I do" said Briar  
"Well that explains a lot" said Niko  
All of them turned to see Niko standing in the doorway.  
"You herd all that" said Briar  
"Yes I did" Niko replied "It makes sense now why when I took all your knives away from you the first year you tried so hard to steal that one back"  
Briar looked away 'Why did I tell them all that. I hate dragging up the past'  
Just then Lark and Rosethorn walked in.  
"Lets get a move on, we have a lot of things to sell in town today" said Rosethorn  
  
Taroh: did u like? I'll try to add another chapter asap. 


	3. the queen is coming

A/N: ok im really sorry that I haven't updated in a really long time but i've been away for the summer and couldn't update, so yeah, sorry. I promise that ill be updating a lot more now. So hear is chapter 3.

Since it was in the early spring months, the weather was beginning to get warm. The Summersea market was full of people when the mages from Winding Circle arrived there. They started to set up there booth in the spot by the fountain like they always did. Sandry, Daja and Lark were stetting up the products they had brought to sell, while Tris pulled out another one of her books. Rosethorn and Briar were unloading the last of the items out of the wagon while Niko mounted his horse and said

"I take it that all of you can handle the Booth without me, because I have some business to take care of before midday."

"What business?" asked a curious Tris who took her eyes off the book she was reading.

"I have to meet the duke and go over the plans we are working out for when the Queen of Anderran arrives. She will be staying here for two weeks and wishes to come to Winding Circle." replied Niko

"I heard my uncle mention that the last time I visited him, though he failed to mentioned when she would be arriving." said Sandry

"She should be arriving in two weeks, so we have to get all the planning done as soon as possible"

And with that, Niko started to ride out of the market place and towards the duke's manor. The others had continued setting up when Rosethorn stopped and started to look around.

"Where is Evvy?" she said with an annoyance in her voice. "She should be helping us if she wants to go off later and see the new stones the jeweler has in."

Briar said, "She fell asleep on the ride over here."

And with that Rosethorn made her way over to the wagon and threw off the tarp that was covering it. There lay Evvy peacefully napping with one of her cats snuggled up next to her. Rosethorn grabbed Evvy's ear and pulled while yelling

"Get up now, girl! We didn't take you along with us and miss your lessons just so you could sleep!"

With this Evvy bolted up and started to help finish the unpacking. The others couldn't help but laugh under there breathe. They all knew how sharp Rosethorn's tongue was, and how fast Evvy was to do what she had been told to do. Many hours passed when the group herd the load gongs of the clock in the middle of town. It was now midday and Niko still hadn't returned.

"That meeting with the duke must have taken him longer that expected." said Lark

"Probably. Having a queen from a neighboring land coming here to see Emelan and Winding Circle is a big deal. It's also a real honor." said Sandry

Briar rolled his eyes at this. 'What did it matter to him if some queen came?'

Another hour passed after that and Niko still hadn't returned. By now almost all the items in the booth were sold.

"I think we can handle the booth now, so you all can go and browse the market" said Lark

"Yes, but be back in an hour, and try not to get in any trouble" added Rosethorn

The young mages split up so they each could do there own shopping. After they had gotten what they needed from town Briar, Sandry and Evvy met up at the town square.

"I guess we should start to head back to the booth, it's almost been an hour." said Briar

'Daja. Tris. Are you guys done shopping' said Sandry threw there mind connection

'Yeah, we'll meet you back at the booth' they both replied

So Briar, Sandry and Evvy made there way back. They had just entered the market when they saw a girl looking like she was running for her life, away from one of the merchants in the market. He was starting to attract a lot of attention from the crowd. He attracted the mages attention too, because he kept yelling "Thief!"

A/N: k, so that's chapter 3. I know kinda a cliffhanger, but I promise to have chapter 4 up by the end of the week.


	4. The chase

A/N: ok, I know that I promised to get this chapter up by the end of the week, but there was some stuff that happened to my family so I couldn't really concentrate enough to write. Sorry again.

By now everyone in the market place had there eye on the merchant and the girl he was chasing after. Briar couldn't get a good look at the girl, but she seemed about his age and she was dressed in rags. 'A street rat' Briar thought. By this time the merchant had tripped and fell while the girl got lost from sight in the crowd. The young mages quickly ran over to the merchant who Evvy recognized.

"Jeweler Raden are you ok?" she said.

"Evvy oh its you, please I need your help" he replied "That street rat just stole one of my most expensive items. It's a charm that's worth hundreds. Please get it back form her"

"Don't worry, we'll get it back for you" Sandry said

"Yeh, the only problem is she got away through the crowd" said Briar "It'll be harder to track her down"

Just then Niko, Lark and Rosethorn bushed there way through the crowd to get to them.

"What happened here?" demanded Rosethorn

"Some stupid street rat girl stole one of my most prized positions, and I asked these mages to get it back from me" replied Raden

"Don't worry Raden, we'll try to get it back for you" said Niko "Did any of you get a good look at her?"

"Not really" said Evvy "Just that she was dressed in rags"

"Ok, you three search around the market for a sign of her, we'll find Tris and Daja and tell them to keep an eye out for her"

With that the three of them started to make there way through the crowd and stared to search down all the streets and alleys. They had been searching for about 15 minutes and still no sign of the girl.

"There's still no sign of her, maybe she got away" suggested Sandry

Just as she said this Briar noticed a tall tree near a building and some of the branches were broken. He went up to the tree and saw a piece of cloth that looked like the one that the girl was wearing.

"Or maybe she's not on in any of the alleys but on the roofs" said Briar

With that said he started to climb the tree to reach the roof. When he reached the top of tree and jumped on to the roof he saw the girl sitting with her back to him on the other side of the roof. She was leaning over the charm, running her finger over the designs on it. It looked like she was crying.

Briar started to walk to her, making sure not to make any noise, but just as he was about to grab her shoulder he herd.

"Briar do you see her?" Sandry had yelled

With that herd the girl whipped around and jumped away from Briar. It was now that he got a good look at her. She had tan skin with some freckles, with deep blue eyes. She had jet black hair that was tired up in a messy bun. She pulled out a dagger and sliced a rope next to her that held up clothing line. The cloths fell on Briar blocking his view for a second, which was enough time for the girl to jump to the next rooftop and start running away again.

Briar ran to the edge of the roof and yelled down to Sandry and Evvy "Yeh she her, but she saw me and is on the run again. Im gonna go after her, she heading for the square, tell the others."

With that said he started after the girl again. She was just as fast as he was and from the way she maneuvered from rooftop to rooftop he could tell she had been a street rat for many years. He finally caught up to her when she had reached a rooftop that had a gap from the next one that was too long to jump. Briar was only a few feet from her when she turned to face him.

"I don't want to fight you, I know what its like to be poor and on the streets" said Briar "Just give me back the charm you stole and I'll let you go"

She gave him a hard look and simply said "First of all I stole it back. That jeweler stole it from me when I was sleeping."

"I know jeweler Raden and I know he wouldn't steel, so give it back, you don't have anywhere else to run." replied Briar

"That's what you think" she said with a smile

The girl looked over to the small water tower on the roof and Briar saw a silver glow surrounding her. She lifted her hand and started to clutch it like she was squeezing an invisible ball. Briar looked at the tower and the wood started to crack on and in a split second the tower burst. Briar covered his face to avoid getting hit by a piece of wood in the head. When he looked again he saw that the girl had the water from inside the tower hovering in the air above her.

"Wasn't expecting that were you?" she said

And with the flick of her wrist the water shot at Briar with full force. The water hit him with a lot of pressure and made him fly back wards till he hit a shed that was on the other side of the roof. He saw the girl wink at him and jump off the roof to the street.

Briar tried to get up but it was hard because of so much pressure that had made him hit the shed. He was also gasping for breath because he had breathed in some of the water when it had hit him. He managed to get to the edge of the roof catching a glimpse of the girl turning the corner heading into the square.

He jumped down to the street and started running after her again. He had just ran into the square when he saw Sandry standing with the rest of the mages.

Tris saw him first and yelled to him, and he ran over.

"Briar, Sandry said that you were chasing her, did you catch her?" Niko asked

"No, I almost had her but she escaped." he said "I saw her run somewhere here in the square"

"How could you let her get away?" yelled Tris "With all your skills as a thief I would have thought she would have been easy to catch."

"Hey it wasn't my fault she got away, ok" he yelled back "I didn't know that she was a mage"

"What" they all gasped

"She used magic to get away?" asked Lark "What kind?"

"Well she made a water tower explode, and made the water in it hit me with enough force to fling me into the sir till I hit a shed, so im gonna say she's a water mage" replied Briar

"Well at least now we know what were dealing with" said Daja

Briar herd Daja say something else but didn't process it because he caught a glimpse of the girl go down one of the alleys. With out a word he ran past the others and started after her. He ran down the alley and was right on her tail again. She tried to loose him but couldn't. Finally she headed down an alley that led to a dead end.

"Looks like this time you have no place to run" he said

She turned around to face him and glared at him.

"Didn't you learn anything from last time, you can't beat someone that has the skills that I have with magic" she replied

"You may think that but im a mage as well" said Briar

And with that he made the vines that were on the wall next to the girl come alive and wrap around her. She struggled to get loose but couldn't.

"I wouldn't keep struggling or they'll just get tighter." warned Briar "Like I said before I don't want to hurt you, I was a thief too for many years; I know what its like. Just trust me, give me back the charm and ill let you go."

"No way in hell, that charms mine and I don't trust you." She yelled back and with her free hand pulled out her dagger and cut the vines to get loose.

"If you really were a thief then fight me if you want the charm so badly, but no magic" she said

"I don't want to fight but you really give me no choice"he pulled out his dagger as well"But no magic right?"

"No magic, thief's honor" she replied and with that charged him and tried to cut his face.

Briar blocked her and tried not to hurt her but to disarm her. She on the other hand wasn't as nice and kept just nearly missing slicing Briar with her knife. She was very skilled and for some reason he recognized a lot of her moves. Finally he managed to knock the dagger from her hand but she did the same to him. He tried to retrieve it but she grabbed the dagger first thrust it at him. Briar tried to block her but she managed to cut his arm.

The wound was deep and it hurt badly. But just as she turned her back to him and tried to climb over the wall he kicked her ankles making her fall and the dagger she held slid over to the other one she had dropped.

They started to fight again but this time with no weapons. Briar was at a disadvantage because of the wound on his arm, but he managed to keep her there until the other showed up. Daja was the first to react and she gripped her staff and thrust it at the girl in her face knocking her back.

She fell backwards right near where the two daggers lay. She grabbed hers and just as the other mages were about to grab her she turned to a sewer pipe at the far right and waved her hand at it. It exploded with pressurized water blocking the mages from grabbing her. The water gave her enough time to climb over the wall and get away. This time for good. The water from the pipe slowed down and started to run slow enough till it stopped.

"Great, now she's gone and we can't get the charm back" said Evvy

"Briar, are you ok?" asked Sandry after seeing the cut on his arm.

"Yeh im fine" he said "Nothin that wont heal"

"Any idea of to who that girl was?" asked Niko

"No, I've never seen her before" said Evvy

The rest of them shook there heads too. Briar walked over to where he had dropped his dagger and picked it up, but before he put it away he noticed something different about it.

"Briar?" asked Tris "What's wrong"

Briar just continued to stare at the dagger like he hadn't even herd her. The only thing he said was "It can't be"

A/N: so that chapter 4, what do you think?


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